Pattern-producing means for knitting machines



Jan. 4, 1927. 1,613,304

H. T. BALLARD PATTERN PRODUCING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May1925 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 g-mmatgz MTNESSEBH- HZ -Zert zzz Bazzmm Jan. 41927.

- H. "r. BALLARD PATTERN PRODUCING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May2 1925 .2 Sheets-Sheet 2 amen cos .Hfrberi' T Patented Jan. 4, 1927.

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HERBERT T. BALLARD, OF N ORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

PATTERN-PRODUCING MEANS FOR KNITTING MACHINES,

Application filed May 25, 1925.

needles; however, the present invention con templates a very simple andreliable method of aceemplishingthat result without making any change inthe mechanism of an or:

dinary circular rib knitting machine other than to equip the machine, atone or more yarn feeding locations, with a suitably areo ranged patternwheel cooperating with one set of needles, preferably the dial needleswhich knit the yarn or thread for one side or face of the fabric. Thispermits of an almost unlimited selection of designs or patterns, and atthe same time involves merely a pattern wheel attachment that can bereadily removed, replaced and interchanged according to therequirements,

Vfith these and other objects in View which will be apparent to thosefamiliar with this art, the invention consists in the novel patternattachment and knitting operation hereinafter more fully described,illustrated and claimed.

The primary feature of the invention necessarily is susceptible ofconsiderable modification without departing from the principle thereof,but a practical embodiment of the invention is exemplified in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view, partly india gram, of the head of an ordinary rib knitting machine showing one ofthe yarn feeding stations where the pattern device is located.

Figure 52 is a side view showing more clearly the detail of the mountingof the pattern wheel.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail plan view above the needle dial showingmore clearly the relation of the pattern wheel to the hook ends of thedial needles. v

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view showing the normalrelation of a cyl Serial No. 32,811.

inder needle and a dial needle during the plain rib knitting operationwhen the pat tern is not being made.

Figure 5 is a similar view showing the change that takes place inplacing one of the yarns or threads on the latch of the dial needle whenthe pattern is being made on one face of the fabric.

Figure 6 is a view of the two needles at the next step beyond Fig. 5,that is when the latch of the dial needle is closed and traps boththreads in the hook.

Figures 7 and 8 are two detail views of the fabric, one View showing theplain side, and the other view showing the pattern side.

Fig. 9 represents a view taken from the edge of a piece of fabricshowing on a greatly enlarged scale the stitch employed, the last courseof knitting andthe loops of the preceding course being shown.

In carrying out the present invention the ordinary circular rib knittingmachine may be employed without change or alteration in its usualmechanism, that is to say, it is the purpose of the improvement claimedherein to carry out on a machine of that type the conventional knittingoperation of plain rib knitting with two threads or two yarns to producea double-faced or two-ply fabric having the front and back of differentInaterials, such as silk and cotton respectively produced with a silkthread and a cotton thread usually of different colors; and, to make asimple change in the feed of one of the threads at one or more locationsabout the cylinder in order to form by such thread the desired patternon one side or face of the fabric.

To illustrate the feature of improvement the drawings simply show theonly parts of a knitting machine which are in any af fected by theinvention. Referring thereto the numeral 11. designates the needlecylinder in which are mounted and controlled in the usual way thecylinder needles 2, and the numeral 3 designates the needle dial inwhich are mounted and controlled, in the usual way, the radial andhorizontal dial needles 4. The needles 2 and 4 preferably are theordinary latch needles each of which is provided at its outer operativeend with the thread engaging hook 5, the pivw latch 6 which automaticallo erates to open and close the said hook, the stem part 7 and the butt8, and in the operation of plain rib knitting, and fed with the separatethread or yarn, the said needles will produce a double-faced fabricconsisting of two knitted webs, one overlying the other and being unitedat intervals by the thread of one web engaging with the thread of theother web.

In the normal operation of the machine every needle is knitting all thetime, and there is no tuck stitching, as the present inventioncontemplates making the pattern without tuck stitching and withoutleaving any floating threads on the patternless side of the fabric, aswould )e the case with tuck stitching.

Referring to Fig. l of the lrawings, it will be seen that in the normalplain ribknitting operation of the machine one thread which may beconveniently designated by the letter B, representing the white cottonthread is fed at each yarn feeding location to the cylinder needles 2,and the controlling cam for the dial needles when passing this stationwill cause the needles to be projected a sufiicient distance beyond thedial so that the said thread B will h laid in the throat or on the shankof the dial needles l, in rear of the latch thereof. At the samestation, the second thread which may be conveniently designated by theletter N as representing a blue silk thread, is fed into the hook of thedial needle 21 little later than the laying of the thread 13 on theshank of such needle. Consequently, when the dial needle retires, or isdrawn back under the influence of its controlling cam or camway, thethread B will close the latch of the dial needle, thereby trappingthread IV in the hook thereof and at the same time thread B willcast-off of the hook of the retreating dial needle so as not tointerfere with the cylinder needles proceeding with the knitting of theordinary web to form one face of the fabric, which according to theexample being described will be the white face of the fabric.

Now, in order to produce the pattern at the one or more yarn feedingstations about the machine the present invention provides a very simplebut reliable expedient, namely, that of a pattern device which arreststhe advance of the dial needle so that it will project a less distancethan normally beyond the edge of the dial so that when the thread B islaid thereon it will be positioned over or substantially inside of thelatch of the dial needle. Therefore, when the dial needle retires underthe influence of its controlling cam and pulls through the loop thereonits latch 6 will be closed, thereby trapping both threads W and B withinits hook 5, with the thread 13 inside of and against the thread IV. Theknitting which ensues with the two threads in this relation andjuxtaposition will leave the thread B as the predominant thread whosestitches are exposed in and through the face of the fabric formed by thecolored thread IV, and the stitches of the thread B so exposed are ofany predetermined extent or angle according to the pattern desired, andsuch pattern is determined by the use of the pattern wheel designated bythe reference 9.

The pattern wheel 9 is of simple construction. It is provided with atoothed periphery 10 forming the peripheral needle kerfs 11 whichloosely mesh with the hook ends of the dial needles 4 at each thread oryarn feeding station. At predetermined intervals about the toothedperiphery of the pattern wheel 9 the latter is provided with a patternland or abutment blank 12 which is not provided with the kerfs 11 and isof any predetermined width, and each such land or blank 12 when it comesinto opposition to the dial needles, between the needle feeding pointsof the threads IV and 13, operates to hold or press back the dialneedles to the position shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings wherein thethread B will be laid on or inside of the latch of the dial neeale withthe accompanying result hereinbefore referred to. It will be understoodthat because of its meshing engagement with the dial needles the patternwheel 9 is rotated on its axis by and with such needles as they movepast the thread feeding stat-ion where the pattern wheel is located.

The pattern wheel 9 may be mounted in any suitable manner, for instanceupon a short upstanding spindle or axle 13 adjustably bolted as at 14 toand within a slotted supporting bracket 15 which may be convenientlyfastened to the stationary cam casing, surrounding the needle cylinder,imme' diately below the horizontal plane of the dial.

In Fig. 9 at the point marked A is shown the course of the yarn fed tothe cylinder needles when the needle is pressed back by the patternwheel operating on the end of the needle. The stitch at this point iswhat is termed plaited, the yarn B showing back of the yarn W will showon the face of the cloth. l Vhen. the needle is pressed hack to receivethe cylinder yarn, the yarn takes a difl'erent course, as is shown byloop A.

The last courses of knitting are shown at C and the preceding courses atB.

I desire it to be understood that mere reversal of parts and minorchanges in details of construction may be resorted to without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a knitting machine for fabricating a double-faced fabric with twothreads, said mechanism including cylinder and dial rice.

dies, and a pattern device at the threadfeeding station having means forcausing both threads to be trapped in the hook of one of said needleswhereby the threads are transposed on the exposed surface of the goodsfrom the position they normally occnpy thereby forming a pattern on saidexposed face.

2. In a knitting machine, for fabricating a double-faced fabric with twothreads, the knitting mechanism including cylinder and dial needles, anda pattern device having means for causing both threads, at apredetermined point or points, to be trapped in the hook of the dialneedle.

3. In a knitting machine for fabricating a double-faced fabric, with twothreads, the knitting mechanism including two sets of needles, and apattern device having means for causing both threads, at a predeterminedpoint or points, to be trapped in the hooks of one set of needles.

l. In a knitting machine for fabricating a double-faced fabric from twothreads, the knitting mechanism including cylinder and dial needles, anda pattern device actuated by the dial needles and having means to changethe feed of one of said threads to expose it on the opposite face of thefabric from that which it normally occupies and form a desired patternupon said face.

5. In a knittins machine for fabricating a doable-faced fanric from twothreads, the knitting mechanism including cylinder and dial needles, anda pattern device actuated by the dial needles and having means forregulating the positions of such needles to change the feed of one ofsaid threads to form a superposed pattern on one face only of thefabric.

6. In a knitting machine for fabricating a double-faced fabric from twothreads, the knitting mechanism including cylinder and dial needles, anda pattern device actuated by the dial needles and having means fordetermining the projection of the dial needle hooks beyond the dialplate to provide means for changing the feed of one of said threads atpredetermined intervals to cause it to be exposed on the opposite faceof the fabric to that which it normally occupies and form adesiredpattern on said face.

7. In a knitting machine for fabricating a double-faced fabric with twothreads, the knitting mechanism including cylinder and dial needles, anda pattern device having means for normally causing the thread for thecylinder needle to be laid on the dial needle shank back of the latch,and at predetermined intervals to be laid on or in side of said latch. t

8. In a knitting machine for fabricating a double-faced fabric with twothreads, the knitting mechanism including cylinder and dial needles, anda pattern device having means for normally causing one thread to be laidon the dial needle shank back of the latch in advance of the feed of thesecond thread into the hook of the dial needle, and at predeterminedintervals causing the first mentioned thread to be trapped with thesecond thread in the hook of the dial needle.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

HERBERT THEODORE BALLARD.

